Foldable portable bin



Sept. 7, 1954 w. F. ROSENBERG FOLDABLE PORTABLE BIN Filed Feb. 7, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I 511 WU Z FJ'PINVENTOR.

Sept. 7, 1954 Filed Feb. 7, 1950 p I4. fl/ H 4 6. n J w WWW 7 n w o 4 07 08 w M; Ff i i ii 2; & @L .2 i z 0 $5,; u U w iii. L F x Z w 2 iPatented Sept. 7, 1954 UNI TED OFFICE FOLDABLE POBTABLE BIN .WiJJiam F.,Bosenberg, Chicago, Ill.

Application Ffebr-uary 7, 1950,--Serial-No.142,810

My invention relates to truckingH-andthegeneral problem oftransportingand storing package. freight and miscellaneous commodities. :Ihe wagesof stevedores and warehouse personnel whohandle package freight, expressandother merchandise, represent a .large item of expense, and: the laborof handling such materials-is onerous. It has been proposed to usebox-like containers, relatively small. compared with the entirety of arailroad freight car or movingvan, so; that the individual packages canbe stacked inlarger units, and. the larger units then placed in the vanbody or freight car more conveniently, not only with respect toreceiving, but especially with respect to delivery. In spite of manyproposals along this line, substantially 100% of the package express andfreight, so far as I am aware, is still'handled on the individualpackage, stevedoring basis.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective of a trucking unit, setup to receive packagefreight, with an open front;

* Figure 2 is a-similar perspectiveof the same unit with the frontclosed and the pulling handle assembled;

. Figure 3 is a horizontal section of the unit of Figure 1 with the sideWallsfoldeddown;

"Figure 4 isa similar section indicating the use of higher side wallsthat overlap when folded;

Figure 5 is a detail section'on line 5-5 of Figure 2;

..Eigure .6 is a bottom plan view of the unit with the front wall. andpulling handle in storage;

Figure 71s a section on line of Figure- 6; and

Figure; 8. is a somewhat enlarged view of one of the corners of thechassis.

In the embodiment of g the invention selected for illustration, the unitcomprises a chassis and a superstructure. The chassis includes the floorl0. and a frame below the floor. The frame includes a completeperipheral vset of channels with their flanges vturned. inwardly,includingv av front, channel, l2, a rear channel .14 andend channels l6and H3. The channels [6 and. I8-are of .full depth atitheir ends andofreduced depth in the central portions to define a receivingand storagespace 26). The flooring .m, is. also supportedalong intermediate lineslongitudinally'by angles 22 and .24. .The chassis also includes fourcaster wheels, which, per se, may be of conventional construction. "f,.Eachccaster. wheel includes afoundation plate-2 Giastened to the.under. sur-.;

face of the floorlll and apivotedframe 2 8 including horns supportingthe pintle 3G for the wheel'proper 32. The wheels 32 have theirhorizontal .axes at or just a little above the lower level of thechassis sothat when the chassis is horizontal on a horizontalsupport,the entire weight is carried on the wheels and can be pushed around.very easily.

:I provide a U-shaped pulling handle comprising a .bight 134 and doglegs 36. The front channel [.2v carries spacedsockets Sate receive theends of the legs of the handle. ,When, not in use, the handle may be,stored. in the chassis, as byeIipping the legs 36. through openings inthe vertical legof the angle 2G. Depending on the length of the legsandthe spacing of the angles, the, ends of the legs .36 may enter similarholes in. theangle- 22,. or,,as illustrated in Figure 7, in bracketsMfastened to the horizontal leg of the .angle 22.

the rear channel Hi I provide two bumper wheels 40 approximately at, thequarter points of the length of the, channel. When the device is .beingrolled around in horizontal position, either loaded or unloaded,v thesebumper wheels will be the; first parts, to contact va vertical Wall oranother truck ora pile of, objects, to reduce the impact whensuchcontacts occur, and avoid friction between the contacting parts. Anequally important function for the bumper wheels 40,..is indicated inFigure 7. vWhen such a,truckis.not in use it can be turned up on edgequickly, and then the bumper wheels 40 engage the. supporting floor, sothat the truck can be trundled off into a corner, and a large number ofsuch trucks can be stacked onedge in an extremely. small space.

,Similar bumper wheels 42 are provided for each of. the end channels l6and I8. Under many .conditionsof service the front channel 12 may bepreferred without bumper wheels. I have indicated wheels 44 projectingsomewhat farther, than the wheels 42 so that they stick out far enoughto protect the socket 39.

lltis often desired to adjust such a unit so that it. will not rollaround accidentally or too easily whenlightly jostled. Each of thechannels. 16 and :18 next the cornerswhere they jointhe front channel l2carries a. horse 46in the nature of a V pivoted at its apexon a pivot 48next the lower edge of the channel. The horse illustrated has legs ofangle-cross section and is shown in Figure sin operative position. Toget the parts into the position rif -Figure 8-it is only necessarytolift the front'edge of the truck about two inches and ive the horse abit of a pull or a kick to displace it from the dotted line position ofFigure 8 to the full line position, where it projects down far enough tohold the adjacent caster wheel 32 a little off the supporting floor.When not in use, the horse is kept in dotted line position by cont ct wih a s mple stop pin 50. With the parts in the position of Figure 8, toget the truck rolling again it is only necessary to push to the left,and it will ride over the left leg of the horse and let itself down onthe. caster 32 and continue moving that direction. In pushing the truckup a ramp that is not too steep, the horse will function as a sprag, butif it is not desired to check return movement, a touch of the hand ortoe will swing it up to inoperative position.

It will be obvious that the structure so far described is a useful unitfor many purposes. A

great enlargement of its sphere of usefulness is achieved by providingit with a compact foldable superstructure so that it can function as abox rather than as a pallet. The superstructure illustrated comprises afoldable rear wall 52, end walls 54 and 56, and a removable front wallindicated as a whole by the reference character 58. Each end wall ishinged on a horizontal axis along its lower edge. Each hinge comprises ahorizontal pintle 59 and vertical legs 60 extending downwardly at bothends thereof as best illustrated in Figure 5. Each mounting leg 60 isreceivable in vertically aligned holes in the legs of its channel andadjustably fastened at the desired height, as by means of a set screw 62accessible from outside. For compactness and strength I prefer to threadthe set screw 62 into a sleeve 64 which may be set on the lower leg ofthe channel and welded in place. Each end wall comprises a wall panelproper and a plurality of hinge straps 66 encircling the pintle 59.

The rear wall 52 is mounted on hinge means essentially identical withthose for the end walls, but its hinge is set at a higher level so that,as indicated in Figure 3, it can be folded down over the folded endwalls and still lie flat. The rear wall 52 is provided with cornerbattens 68, one along each vertical edge. In the unfolded position ofFigures 1 and 2 these battens form abutments for the edges of the endwalls. When in set-up condition, the parts are held in place by catches10 pivoted on the battens and pins '12 on the end walls, which pinsenter notches in the catches m. In folded-down position the battens 68enclose the hinges of the end walls 54 and 56, and the catches 10 hookover pins M on the chinnels l6 and [8 to hold the parts in foldedcondition. It will be noted that in this condition the pins I2 functionas abutment spacers between the folded end walls and the folded rearwall. Because the parts are standing on edge, they will tend to lie inthe position of Figure 3, but if it is desired to block them againstrattling, a bit of board it may be dropped in edgeways between the floorIn and the folded end Walls.

Referring now to Figure 4, I have indicated end walls 54 and 56' of sucha height that their ends overlap when they are folded down. In this casethe hinge structures all remain unchanged, but the hinge for the endwall 54' is adjusted enough higher to enable it tofold above the levelof the end wall 56', and the hinge for the rear wall 52 is moved up thecorresponding distance. Thus, as clearly indicated in Figure 4, the pin12 on the end wall 56 is a spacer abutment for the end wall 54, and thepin 12 on the end wall 54' is a spacer abutment for the rear wall. 52.

A structure thus provided with enclosing walls on three sides is veryconvenient for piling material that might slide or cascade off a pallet.When it is desired to complete the enclosure, the end wall 58 isemployed. This wall is made in two panels of substantially equal width,2. lower panel 18 and upper panel 85. The lower panel is provided withtwo spaced studs 82 receivable in vertical sockets 84 in the frontchannel [2. After it is set in place, the upper panel may swing 180around hinges 85 into the position of Figure 2. Corner battens 86 areprovided on the ends of the upper panel only, to take over the edges ofthe end walls 54 and 56. The upper panel may be left folded down,depending on the amount of material to be held in place, or folded up asin Figure 2. In folded-up condition it is fastened in place by catches88 located midway between the upper and lower edges of the panel 80 andtaking over pins 90 on the end walls. When not in use, as clearlyindicated in Figure 7, the panels 18 and 80 are folded together andnested in the trough 2i! defined by the narrow central sections of thechannels [6 and [8. In this position they are held in place by hookingthe catches 88 over pins 92 on the channels 16 and I8. Brackets 94 maybe provided to receive the studs 82. Thus the front wall 58, when not inuse, is securely held in place out of the way within the frame, readyfor use when desired.

It will be obvious that, in equipment having specified and substantiallyuniform service, all the hinges 58 could be made fixed andnonadjustable. However, adjustability facilitates removalwhen the Wallsare not desired at all, adjustment to change from high walls to lowwalls, and adjustment for handling bulk materials. I have illustratedthe parts with the adjustment preferred for handling miscellaneouspackage freight, where it is desirable to have at least a littleventilation under many conditions. But with the parts in the positionsof Figure 1, loosening of the set screws 62 will let all the hinges dropdown into contact with the floor. In this condition corn or stoker coalor other bulk commodities can be shoveled or poured into the box. Alittle strip of newspaper or burla laid on the floor against the hingeswill let the container function simply and effectively even for suchfreefiowing materials as wheat or oats.

It will be obvious that the structure lends itself readily to coveringwith a tarpaulin or hatch, if it is to beallowed to stand exposed to theweather. The pulling handle is valuable whenever desired, with orwithout the front wall in place, and sockets 39 are duplicated at 96 onthe rear channel l4. These sockets are also available for hooking ontolarge or small tractors of any type, and for connecting a series of binstogether to be pulled as a train.

Others may readily adapt the invention for use under various conditionsof service by employing one or more of the novel features involved, orequivalents thereof. As at present advised with respect to the apparentscope of my invention, I desire to claim the following subject matter.

I claim:

1. A portable bin comprising, in combination: a rectangular chassis;said chassis including a floor and a peripheral frame below said floor;wheels on said frame extending below the level of said frame; and asuperstructure of foldable panel members adapted, when unfolded, toextend up from the periphery of said floor and define a box-likeenclosure, and to fold down into compact relation adjacent said floor;said superstructure including a back member along one long side of saidchassis and end members along both short sides of said chassis; all saidmembers being pivotally mounted for rotation about an axis near theirlower edges into folded and unfolded positions; said end members beinghinged in offset planes closer to the floor than said back member,whereby after said end members are folded down said back member can befolded over said end member; said back member having angular projectionsat both ends; said angular projections, in unfolded condition, formingstop members to limit the unfolding of said end members; saidprojections, in folded condition, enclosing the hinges of said endmembers; hook and pin means, in the nature of a hook pivoted on each ofsaid angular back member projections, remote from the back member hinge,and a pin on the corner of the unfolded end member positioned to beengaged by said hook, for locking said end members and back members inunfolded condition; said pin members, when in folded condition,functioning as stops to engage the folded back member and hold the partsin alignment; and pins on said frame positioned to engage said samehooks on said back member when folded down, to hold all said foldedmembers in folded position.

2. A portable bin comprising, in combination: a rectangular chassis;said chassis including a floor and a peripheral frame below said floor;supporting wheels on said frame; and a superstructure of foldable panelmembers adapted, when unfolded, to extend up from the periphery of saidfloor and define a box-like enclosure; three of said members beingmounted to fold down into compact relation adjacent said floor; a frontclosure member; pin and socket means for fastening said front member inplace along its lower edge; said front member being dividedlongitudinally and centrally into an upper and a lower panel; hingemeans connecting said upper and lower panels along their adjacent edges;and extensions on the ends of said upper panel extending inwardly toengage the adjacent corners of the unfolded end panels; hook and pinmeans for said upper panel including a hook at each end of said upperpanel positioned midway be tween its upper and lower edges, andregistering pins on said end walls; said frame including alongitudinally extending central portion of reduced thickness with thelower level cut away to define a space for housing said front wall withsaid panels folded together; and pins on said frame positioned to engagesaid same hooks on the upper panel of said front wall to hold saidfolded front wall in position housed in the under portion of saidchassis.

3. A portable bin comprising, in combination: a rectangular chassis;said chassis including a floor member; supporting wheels on saidchassis; and a superstructure of foldable panel members adapted, whenunfolded, to extend up from the periphery of said floor and define abox-like enclosure; three of said members being mounted to fold downinto compact relation adjacent said floor; a front closure member; meansfor fastening said front member in place along its lower edge; saidfront member being divided horizontally into an upper and a lower panel;hinge means connecting said upper and lower panels along their adjacentedges; and extensions on the ends of said upper panel extending inwardlyto engage the adjacent corners of the unfolded end panels;quick-detachable means for fastening the ends of said upper panel to theadjacent edges of said end panels; said frame including a portion shapedto define a space for housing said front closure with its said panelsfolded together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 117,085 Lawrence July 18, 1871 620,059 Sykes Feb. 21, 1899973,578 Springer Oct. 25, 1910 995,566 Rasmussen June 20, 1911 1,245,591Hudson Nov. 6, 1917 2,103,231 Blake Dec. 28, 1937 2,152,217 Shaw Mar.28, 1939 2,447,028 Riddick Aug. 17, 1948

